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Accountants 'regret choice of career'

More than one in three accountants have confessed they would select an alternative career if they had the chance to choose again.

According to the Accountancy Age careers survey, produced with recruitment specialists Nigel Lynn Associates, a staggering 38% of respondents said they would seek alternative careers if given the chance. Most pointed to working conditions and benefits as the most important considerations when choosing a job.

Almost one in five cited opportunities for progression as the reason for choosing their career. The next most popular reasons were working conditions and personal recognition.

Respondents said their qualifications had prepared them for many prospective roles, with a vast majority saying they would follow the same training again. Among those who said they would train with a different institute if they could, many said the perception of their institute against others was their main concern.

A third of CIPFA accountants said their qualification was inflexible and offered few opportunities outside the public sector. Two-thirds of ACCA members said their qualification was not as highly regarded as the other institutes, while 28% of English ICA accountants said their training was not relevant to their roles.